Little Elm High School
Weekly Newsletter - January 23rd, 2016
Chart Your Course Preview: Selecting an Endorsement - Pick your Path, Start Your Future
Graduation requirements for Texas high school students changed beginning with the Class of 2018 and thereafter. The adjustment in graduation plans was the result of a law passed by the Texas Legislature called House Bill 5, which was designed to give students more options to customize their high school learning experiences and ultimately help them transition more easily from high school to college or the workforce. The current graduation plan called The Foundation Plan includes required courses but it also provides students opportunities to personalize their educational experience by providing five endorsements that allow them to explore areas of interest before they reach college or pursue workforce training. Similar to picking a major in college, every LEHS ninth grade student will select an area of study called an endorsement. Students can choose from five endorsement options that focus on specific career pathways – 1) Arts and Humanities, 2) Business and Industry, 3) Public Services, 4) Science and Math or STEM, and 5) Multidisciplinary Studies. Endorsement categories are designed to graduate college and career ready students by providing a link between student interests, learning, and real world applications.
So how do you decide on the Endorsement that best matches your interests? Some students already know the area of study they are most interested in and others may need some help identifying their strengths and interests. One tool that LEISD students may use to help them choose a pathway is Naviance. Naviance connects learning and life by helping students discover their individual strengths and learning styles while exploring college and career options based on their results. Students can access their Naviance account here. Students log in using the same username and password they use to log into their district computer. Additional resources can be found on the College and Career Readiness section of our district website which can be accessed here. The LEHS Counselors will be available at Chart Your Course and throughout the course selection period to help students choose an Endorsement pathway that will personalize their high school learning experience. In the words of James Van Praagh, “We have all been placed on this earth to discover our own path, and we will never be happy if we live someone else’s idea of life.”
Renee Pentecost
Principal
Little Elm High School
SAVE THE DATE! CHART YOUR COURSE SECONDARY SHOWCASE
LEISD will host its annual Chart Your Course Secondary Showcase event on Wednesday; January 27th from 6:30-8:30 PM at Little Elm High School. This is an annual opportunity specifically for all 5-11th grade students and parents! Attendees will have the opportunity to view all of the curriculum opportunities offered within LEISD, and begin the planning process for future coursework and success! Last year we had a huge turnout and the general response was that this event was a great way to interact with teachers, ask questions, obtain information, and generally see everything LEISD has to offer for secondary students. This year’s theme will be STAR WARS! Administrators, counselors, staff, students, and translators will be on site to assist you, as needed. Please mark your calendars now and make plans to attend this tremendously informative event designed to help all LEISD secondary students Chart Your Course for success! Make plans now to attend. You can click HERE for more information and the event flyer.
ALL THINGS YEARBOOK!
Yearbook Ordering Deadline Approaching!!
The cost is $65, and orders may be placed online at www.Jostens.com or in Room 1229 before or after school. Payment plans are available for online orders only, and online ordering ends at 9 am on January 29.
The 2015-16 book is already receiving rave reviews from those in the yearbook industry who have seen it. It's a book you won't want to miss!
The LEHS yearbook program is on Twitter!!! Follow us @leb16deal and tag your friends at school events (#lehsbigdeal), and your pictures may be used in this year's book!
DECA District Competition Results
DECA information
Help Needed
Little Elm High School offers several different programs to facilitate student learning in the community. These include earning class room credit for paid employment and for unpaid internships (especially health care related). If you are a Little Elm area employer please consider working with our Little Elm High School students. Any students placed through our coop or intern programs will receive industry specific training and oversight from a teacher. E-mail Rodger Hutley, Marketing Teacher at rhutley@littleelmisd.net for more information.
Prom Information
PROM 2016
Starry Night
April 23, 2016
7:30 - 10:30pm
Location: 7forParties
150 Turtle Creek Blvd #107, Dallas, TX 75207
Two LEHS Girls Basketball Players are featured in Frisco Enterprise article
HBCU College Fair
Texas College
Central State University
Texas Southern University
Grambling State
Prairie View A&M
Alcorn State
Tennessee State
Fisk
Langston University
Paul Quinn College
Spelman College
Morehouse College
Philander Smith
The event was pretty overwhelming for me as the college advisor because I got to witness students who thought for whatever reason their college options were very limited but realized after attending this event, in fact they are not. We had two students receive a full tuition scholarship to Philander Smith College in Little Rock Arkansas, Julian Bell and Travis Scott, please congratulate them when you see them. Also, Arial Lewis, Alexis Ficklin and Taja Dean were offered admission to Philander Smith on the spot. The organization that I partnered with for this event, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, gave door prizes such as SAT/ACT registration waivers, book scholarships and comforter sets for the dorm room. Our students had a great time and their eyes were opened to new possibilities. I am also proud to say one of our own, Erica Paige, who graduated from Little Elm and Spelman College was here to represent Spelman College! We are making a change in the culture here and it takes all of us and I appreciate everyone's help.
Keisha Brown
College and Career Readiness
UNT Eagle Advantage Agreement
I am excited to announce that Little Elm ISD will be the next district to sign an agreement with the University of North Texas and their Eagle Advantage program. This program offers great benefits to our students reaching as far the middle schools. Although there are many benefits to this program, the one I am most excited about is the opportunity for any student from Little Elm HS who ranks in the top 20% of their class at the end of their junior year being offered automatic admission to UNT regardless of SAT or ACT scores. If they decide to attend UNT, these students will also be eligible for a scholarship just for Little Elm students.
On January 29 at 1:30 p.m. we will hold a special ceremony in the gym in which our principal and superintendent will be in attendance, along with administration from UNT. We will also have members of the UNT band and pep squad and student leaders from the university to speak to our students and promote this new partnership. We will invite students who are in the top 20% of their class at this time.
Keisha Brown
College and Career Readiness
Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented Scholarship Opportunities
SFA STEM Scholarship
$10,000 per year for eligible Science, Technology, Engineering and Math majors
Scholarships awarded through SFA’s College of Sciences and Mathematics
To be considered you must:
1. Enter SFA as either an incoming freshman or a new transfer student beginning fall 2016
2. Complete the SFA STEM Scholarship application and return it to the dean’s office by 5 p.m. April 1, 2016
3. Declare a STEM major
4. Submit at least one letter of recommendation from a STEM teacher
5. Enroll as an incoming freshman with a math SAT/ACT of at least 600/26
6. Advance through the interview process with the STEM scholarship committee
For more information about this scholarship contact Vicki Shimer by email at shimervm@sfasu.edu or by phone at 936-468-5197
Download the application packet at www.science.sfasu.edu
The Don't Mess with Texas Scholarship
CTE Student Scholarships
Seniors,
Mahindra USA Inc. and the Career and Technology Association of Texas have announced scholarship opportunities for Texas high school seniors participating in career and technical education to apply for $1000 college scholarships. Deadline to apply is March 31, 2016. Please click here for more information.
Scholarship Opportunity
Click HERE to access the application.
Wendy Swift | HR Manager | Texas Farm Credit
1307 Dominion Plaza, Tyler TX 75703 | O: (903) 617-5353 | C: (903) 253-2821 | F: (877) 206-8334
Attendance Reminders
. Official Attendance-Taking Time: 3rd period (10:40 – 11:30 regular schedule; 10:30 – 11:15 activity schedule)
· A Parent’s Note after an absence must be submitted within 3 days after returning to school.
· A Doctor’s Note is required after an Absence for five or more consecutive days. A doctor’s note is required for any absence beginning with the 6th absence within any semester.
· A Doctor’s Appointment where the student attends school for part of the day and returns with a doctor’s note is not counted as an absence. Please avoid scheduling doctor’s appointments during the official attendance period.
· Excused Absences - A student who is absent (excused) shall be permitted to make up work and will receive one day/class meeting for each consecutive day/class meeting’s absence to turn in make-up work or to obtain any information covered during the absence. In general, absences will be excused for the following reasons:
o Personal Illness.
o Doctor’s Appointments
o Court Appearance
o Family emergency if the principal is contacted prior to the absence.
o Death in family
o Religious holy days.
Little Elm High School
Ruben Molinar - Associate Principal (rmolinar@littleelmisd.net)
Alen Palislamovic - House Principal A - D (apalislamovic@littleelmisd.net)
Randall Ball - House Principal E - K (rball@littleelmisd.net)
Chris Reza - House Principal L - Ra (creza@littleelmisd.net)
Terilyn Thomas-Monday - House Prinicipal Re - Z (tmonday@littleelmisd.net)
Website: http://www.littleelmisd.net/Domain/9
Location: 1900 Walker Lane, Little Elm, TX, United States
Phone: (972) 947-9443
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Elm-High-School/736775073135970?notif_t=page_fan
Twitter: @LittleElmHS